April 21, 2026
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Minecraft

Applying Games in Education As Learning Models

Heong Weng Mak04 mins

With recent incentive from President Obama, games in education are taking off anew. According to a recent article from Gamespot, the president has just initiated a $4-million plan called “Computer Science for Everyone” which may look toward game models as a learning method. To quote Whitehouse Deputy Director Tom Kalil, “Certainly video games are an entry point for some young people. The reason why some kids might get interested in computer science is because they like to play them, but they also want to make them.”

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best of education

The Best of Education Gamification in 2013

Ivan Kuo14 mins

When it comes to gamification, no community can match the level of excitement, engagement, and dedication to the concept as much as our education readers do.

To wrap up our first week of the best gamification stories of 2013, we’d like to present 5 stories ranging from the emergence of World of Warcraft, Minecraft, and zombies in schools to increased US government spending on educational game initiatives. It’s a good (read: fun) time to be an educator for 2014.

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Educating with WoW and Minecraft with Lucas Gillispie

Ivan Kuo01 mins

The Gamification Revolution is the only live gamification webcast featuring Gabe Zichermann and fellow gamification experts every week. Join us and have all of your gamification questions answered by these experts.

This past week’s guest was Lucas Gillispie, educator and creator of Edurealms — a site dedicated to providing educational materials that make use of games like World of Warcraft and Minecraft. Check out the full video to learn about Lucas’ insights on using games in the classroom and some of the challenges he faces.

Be sure to catch tomorrow’s episode at 1PM EDT with Gabe for another gamification design QnA on the Gamification Revolution

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The Oculus Rift’s Potential in Virtual Reality and Gamification

Alex Landa06 mins

For decades, science-fiction films, television shows, and literature have all featured the concept of virtual reality. Virtual reality (VR) has been a topic of modern lore and a goal unattainable in our lifetimes. Now in 2013, the technological dream of VR will soon be a reality with the Oculus Rift.

Following a successful KickStarter campaign, the Oculus Rift (OR) virtual reality headset has been making waves on tech sites around the world. It goes without saying that for video games, this means a leap into the future and a sense of immersion yet to be seen.

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SimCity as a Game to Inspire Young Engineers and City Planners

Alex Landa09 mins

SimCity is an urban-planning game that is now being used for education in the form of SimCity EDU. The game can teach anything from economics, urban planning, and even environmental studies. The goal with SimCity EDU is to make the game a common part of the classroom experience; students can learn a wide variety of subjects, while working work together, and teachers can create detailed curricula that adhere to learning standards. However, that isn’t to say that the standard SimCity game couldn’t be just as educational as the version designed for classrooms. 

Because of the realistic nature of the game as an urban city simulator, one clever gamer by the name of Mike Rose, has been experimenting with using SimCity as a tool to address problems in cities. 

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MinecraftEdu: Now Teaching in Over 1000 Schools

Kevin Shane45 mins

Educators are rapidly embracing Minecraft, an online simulation game in which gamers craft buildings and conceive of entire civilizations. These efforts proceed in an open world environment. Things have certainly progressed from educators imploring their students to stop playing Minecraft in favor of completing assignments. Now, teachers are seriously exploring ways that the Minecraft experience can advance the education of their students.

Joel Levin is a computer teacher at a private school in NYC. His foray into using Minecraft in the classroom evolved to the point that his enterprise, TeacherGaming LLC, has developed MinecraftEdu. This version of the global gaming phenomenon has been developed specifically for game based learning. As of December 2012, MinecraftEdu had already entered into the curriculum at almost 1000 schools and has even become mandatory in one Swedish school as well.

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Minecraft Added to Mandatory Curriculum in Swedish School

Ivan Kuo23 mins

Minecraft is emerging as one of the most pleasant surprises in game-based learning. Already existing in some schools as a social tool and Roman history lesson, the Swedish-developed block building game has found its way into the mandatory learning curriculum for one particular school in Stockholm.

The Viktor Rydberg school in Stockholm has made Minecraft a part of the compulsory learning curriculum for about 180 students. This new curriculum addition stems from an  internnational school competition called Future City that aims to teach students more about urban engineering.

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Exploring Ancient Rome through Minecraft

Ivan Kuo32 mins

Awhile back, I reported on one educator’s vision of using Minecraft to educate children about history. For those who don’t know, Minecraft is an open-world sandbox game that allows players literally create and explore anything their heart desires. One especially dedicated group of people has actually recreated a scale version of Ancient Rome in this…

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